Pennsylvania and its neighbors are bursting with tradition, legends, tall tales and ghosts. Each week we'll introduce one or two of their strange and spooky stories to you. Click on
Pennsylvania Haunts and History to get to our website's home page.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

-- Baltimore Streets: There have been sightings reported of a ghost of a man dressed in black that wanders the streets of the old section of Baltimore, thought to be Poe, still haunting the byways he roamed when he was alive.

-- Fort Monroe: Poe enlisted in the Army in 1827, under the name Edgar A. Perry, and was stationed at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia as an artilleryman. He ended his tour by finding a replacement to serve out the remaining time. Poe did receive an appointment to West Point; he was drummed out.

People claim to have seen his ghost writing away at a desk; he penned some minor poetry collections while on base.

-- Poe’s Grave: He's buried at the Old Western Burial Ground. Westminster Hall was built over the part of the cemetery, so some of the boneyard is now a catacomb

People have claimed to have seen Poe’s ghost by his grave and in the catacombs. There are cold spots, sounds of footsteps, disembodied whisperings and some visitors have felt the touch of unseen hands in the catacombs.

The biggest mystery is the Man In Black who left a tribute of cognac and roses for Poe on the evening of January 19th, the author's birthday. The ritual, which began in 1949 and been repeated without fail ever since, came to a halt this year. That may be a greater puzzle than the ghost.

-- The Old Stone House Edgar Allen Poe Museum: Located in Richmond, Virginia, the Poe showcase is spread over several buildings, each featuring displays from various stages of his life.

The most famous spook in the museum is "The Shadow," a dark and indistinguishable figure, which has been captured on photographs. Many people speculate that the manifestation is Poe, returning to a place that is familiar to him.

-- Washington College Hospital: The Baltimore hospital where he died in 1849, it's been said that Poe's ghost has been seen roaming its hallways.

-- Eutaw House: There are a myriad of eerie tales concerning the old Centre County, Pennsylvania, Inn. One is that Poe stopped by, fell in love with a local girl, and was spurned. A spook that physically resembles him has been spotted there, although the local lore seems to associate the apparition with a ghost family haunting its halls. Still, it is right by Poe Valley, and a desk has the initials EAP carved in it, so hey...

-- Edgar Allen Poe House and Museum: The house where Poe lived with his grandmother, Maria Poe, and cousin, Virginia Clemm (who he eventually married), is on North Amity Street in Baltimore.

People have reported mysterious cold spots, eerie lights flitting from floor to floor, doors and windows that open and shut by themselves, heard spectral voices, felt unseen hands touch them, and have seen the specter of a heavyset, gray haired woman dressed in nineteenth century clothing, thought to be grandma. Oddly, there have been no alleged sightings of Poe there.